The amazing Peter Saville redesigns Calvin Kleins' iconic logo

“A return to the spirit of the original. An acknowledgement of the founder and foundations of the fashion house. In collaboration with the art director and graphic designer Peter Saville”. With this quote Calvin Klein unveiled it’s newest logo on Instagram and this is big news for both the fashion industry and the graphic design scene.
With Raf Simons’ aesthetic all about innovation and uncovering newness, the latest master of style in charge of the iconic American label after his departure from Dior back in 2015, the renowned designer Peter Saville came with a new visual identity. Simons enlisted his long-time friend and British master of design, best known for creating the album art for important bands such as Joy Division and New Order.

Subtle and sleek, the Calvin Klein new logo isn’t a major departure although there are some notable differences such as the choice of all caps and some (slight) differences in spacing and font style. Continuing the iconic Calvin Klein logo which is part of America’s pop culture for almost 40 years and still going strong, the new logo has been masterfully tweaked by Peter Saville, always staying true to its black colour and sans-serif logotype.

Calvin Klein’s in-house creative team, headed up by chief creative officer Raf Simons, worked on the new logo, collaborating with Saville. Simons is a Belgian designer who joined Calvin Klein in August last year. Peter Saville, originally from Manchester, is best known for his record sleeve designs for Factory Records.

The new design has caused some debate online – “there doesn’t seem to me like there is a legitimate reason to make such a lateral (yet distant) change. It is literally the same thing, just uppercase… It does nothing to move the brand forward… This feels like change for change’s sake to satisfy someone’s whims, more than a strategic move to set up the brand for the next 50 years” comments Underconsideration - yet this is Simons and Saville capitalizing on the brand’s iconic legacy. After all Saville is no stranger to the fashion industry, listing brands such as Lacoste and Y-3 among his collaborators.